The Cole Connection
by Another Me
Summary: A case and Cole in some seriuos trouble. Is there a connection?


Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of it's main characters Just writing for fun, no harm or profit intended.  
  
Notes: Takes place somewhere during season 3 (actually season 2 syndicated). Some references to episodes, no major stuff though.  
  
The Cole Connection  
  
It was 6 am. Detective Cameron Westlake tried to stay awake. Her partner, FBI agent Thomas Cole had told her he would, so that she could go to sleep. Normally she probably would, but not tonight. Why not? she thought, fighting the sleep. Because you don't trust him, she remembered herself. He had lied to her. She couldn't prove it, but she was certain of it. She didn't know whether he knew she thought he lied, but if he knew he didn't seem to care.  
  
They were on a stakeout, following Carlos Cartiega. The only thing she knew about this man was that he was a mercenary. There was nothing known about his past, at least not to her. But she was pretty sure Cole knew more about him. Cole had said that he didn't know the man, that he had never seen him before, but she had immediately known he wasn't telling the truth. And now all she had were photos of a Latino and a file which described several cases of extortion, hi-tech robbery, kidnaping and murder. But he was never caught. And now the man was seen in Metro, gathering a crew. And the Viper-team had to find out what he was up to. That's why they were following him all day. Now the Viper was parked in a alley. From here Cole and Westlake had a clear view on the house where the man had arrived a couple of hours ago. The house was hired by 'Bill Smith.' It was obvious this Mr. Smith didn't exist.  
  
Westlake only realized she had fallen asleep when Cole started the engine. A look around showed why: Sherman Catlett.  
  
'Anything unusual?' Catlett asked when he had reached the Viper.  
  
'No,' Cole replied.  
  
'Good, I'll take it from here.'  
  
Cole drove off without replying. He was definitely in a bad mood. Just great!  
  
*****  
  
When Westlake arrived at the complex Cole wasn't there. Normally she wouldn't be alarmed but now she was. She wanted to keep an eye on him, so she would know what he was doing. She wished she hadn't gone home. She knew it was a foolish wish, because she had to sleep, but she had a really bad feeling about the situation.  
  
'Where's Cole?' Westlake asked Frankie Waters, hoping he was just having lunch or something like that.  
  
'I don't know. About one hour ago he took the Viper, but he didn't say where he was going.'  
  
Frankie was working on the computer. He was digging into the files of the people Cartiega was seen with. When Westlake took a look she saw they all were professional criminals. The man obviously had big plans.  
  
'Hé Westlake,' Frankie asked at the moment she turned away from the computer, 'Do you know what's going on with Cole?'  
  
'So I'm not the only one who noticed something?'  
  
'I've never seen him like this before,' Frankie said. 'And I don't think that's a good thing.'  
  
'I'm worried about him,' Westlake replied. 'It looks like he is somehow personally involved with this Cartiega character. And you know how Cole can be when he is personally involved in a case. I just hope he won't get into trouble.'  
  
Frankie sighed. 'Me too.'  
  
But at that moment Frankie opened a e-mail and they read he already was in trouble. Really big trouble.  
  
*****  
  
Westlake looked down at her partner. He was sitting on the floor of a holding cell and was staring at one of the side walls. He didn't look up once. It was obvious he had been into a fight, because there was blood all over him. But the blood wasn't his.  
  
The police had responded to a call from a hotel manager, who had heard gunshots. They had found Cole in shock sitting beside the victims body, his gun in his hands. There was no indication Cole and the woman had had a fight. According to the hotel manager he came in ten minutes before she was shot. And according to the Crime Scene Investigators Cole was the man who had fired the gun, because his fingerprints were on the weapon and there was found gunpowder residu on his hands.  
  
'Excuse me! Detective Westlake? Before you can try to talk to him, we have to clean him up.'  
  
Westlake watched as the guards pulled Cole from the floor and took him out of his cell. He didn't seem to be aware of anything. When she looked at his eyes she immediately saw he had been drugged.  
  
'Is he tested on drugs?' she asked one of the guards.  
  
'Yeah, the doctor took some blood for testing.'  
  
Because there was nothing she could do, Westlake sat down in the cell, waiting for Cole. She tried to understand what happened, why he had shot someone, but she couldn't think of a reason. There were no signs of a struggle or that the victim had a weapon, so it couldn't have been self- defense. So why had he done such a thing? She hoped Cole could give her a good reason.  
  
When the guards returned Cole his hairs were wet from the shower and he was wearing a clean prison outfit. His eyes looked brighter now, like the cold shower had woken him up somehow. But he still didn't react on her or the guards.  
  
'Cole?' she tried, as soon as the guards had left them alone.  
  
He didn't respond. Westlake sat down beside him and turned his head with her hands, forcing him to look at her direction. At first he didn't react, but suddenly he shivered. He looked confused now, like he didn't know where he was. Westlake realized he probably really didn't know.  
  
'How do you feel?'  
  
He looked at her direction. Surprised, like he didn't notice her until now.  
  
'I'm cold,' he finally managed to say. He shivered again, showing he was telling the truth. 'And I've got a terrible headache.'  
  
'Can you remember what happened?'  
  
He slowly shook his head. 'I'm so...confused, I can't remember anything. I.........don't even know what day it is.'  
  
Westlake wanted to ask him about the woman, how they met and whether there was a connection with their current case. But now she saw him like this she knew it wasn't the right time. He couldn't tell her the answers on her questions right now, if he already knew the answers. She decided she had to try to find them on her own.  
  
When she got up to leave, Cole grabbed her arm.  
  
'Why I'm here?'  
  
Westlake didn't know how she should tell him. Finally she just said it: 'Murder.'  
  
'Murder,' he repeated for himself. Now he looked even more confused.  
  
She slowly removed his hands from her arm. He didn't resist.  
  
He laid his head in his hands. He looked miserable.  
  
'Just try to hold on.' she told him.  
  
Westlake pounded on the door so a guard would let her out. She couldn't stay with him any longer. This was, she realized, because she wasn't convinced he was innocent. She had to find out whether he was guilty or not, and she had to find it out fast, for his and her own sake.  
  
*****  
  
'How is he?' Frankie asked as soon as she entered Catlett's office.  
  
'Not good, and he doesn't remember anything.'  
  
'Do you think he did it?' Frankie asked.  
  
Westlake sighed. 'I really don't know Frankie.'  
  
'Well, we have a problem now,' Catlett said, interrupting the conversation of the other two. 'We can't handle two cases at the same time, especially not with one person less.'  
  
'First we have to find out whether there is a connection between Cartiega and this matter with Cole,' Westlake said.  
  
'Why would there be a connection?' Catlett wondered.  
  
Frankie and Westlake looked at each other.  
  
'Cole was behaving a little strange lately,' Frankie explained. 'Since we are handling the latest case. It was like Cole knew more about Cartiega, that he is personally involved.'  
  
'That still doesn't explain why Cole shot someone,' Catlett noted.  
  
'Oh I don't know,' Westlake said frustrated, 'but I have the feeling there is an connection.'  
  
'Knowing the identity of the victim might help,' Frankie suggested.  
  
'I thought we knew who she was,' Westlake said surprised.  
  
'Her ID was a forgery.'  
  
'That means she probably wasn't just a ordinary woman.'  
  
'No, that's why I want to find out who she is,' Frankie said.  
  
'It might be worth looking in to,' Westlake agreed. 'Why don't you try to find that out. And Catlett, you can keep track of Cartiega.'  
  
'And what are you going to do,' Catlett wanted to know.  
  
Westlake sighed. 'I'm going to search Cole's apartment. Maybe I can find something that shows that he knew the victim, or Carlos Cartiega.'  
  
*****  
  
When Westlake entered Cole's apartment, she had the feeling she was an intruder. Searching her partners house didn't feel right. But it had to be done, and if she didn't do it, someone else would. And now she stood in this appartment, with no idea where to start and what she was looking for. So she started walking around, hoping she would notice something.  
  
The first thing she noticed was a pile of mail. When she looked at it more thoroughly she saw the pile contained everything from the last week: bills, advertising, something from the FBI, a postcard from some girl named Sharon who was on vacation in Brazil, a packet from amazon.com, a brown envelope and todays newspaper. The only thing missing where the other newspapers. She found three on the sofa and she was sure she could find the others at the complex. To be sure she didn't miss anything she opened the brown envelope: it contained an invitation for a high school reunion. After seeing this Westlake was pretty sure Cole hadn't been contacted by mail lately, so that couldn't be the explanation for his strange behaviour.  
  
A further look at his place showed Cole had been there today. Not only was today's mail put on the pile, she found a recently used coffee cup and the clothes Cole had on the night before. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When Westlake noticed an old picture of Cole and his sister she wondered whether Cole knew Cartiega or the woman he had shot from his past. She first had thought Cartiega was someone Cole had arrested earlier, but that didn't make any sense. He would have told her that, there was no reason to hide such a thing. But what if they had been friends? She decided she should look for old pictures.  
  
She found what she was looking for sooner than expected. It was a photo in the top drawer of his desk. There was still some glue at the back, showing it recently had been removed from a photo album. The photo showed five persons in some kind of uniform. Westlake recognized four of them: Cole, Travis Parker, Carlos Cartiega and the woman Cole had shot. The fifth person was a black man. He had put his arms around Cartiega's shoulders, like they were really close friends. The fact that Travis Parker was on the photo showed that the photo was taken when Cole was with the CIA and, maybe even more important, that Carlos Cartiega and the dead woman knew each other and had been, or at least had some connection, with the CIA too. Now Wesrlake was convinced both cases were connected.  
  
*****  
  
When Westlake returned at Catlett's office Frankie and Catlett were waiting for her.  
  
'Did you guys find something useful?'  
  
'Cartiega and his associates went underground,' Catlett started. 'The house they stayed is empty. They're vanished.'  
  
'Great,' Westlake said. 'Any good news?'  
  
'Yeah, that the forensic toxicologist used to work for the CIA.'  
  
'How that so?'  
  
'Well, when he tested Cole's blood he immediately recognized a substance he used to work on,' Catlett said. 'It's a drug called PIMH. It was designed by the CIA and the military to make people forget what happened the last hours or days. It would be usefull to make civilians forget things they shouldn't have seen, so that the CIA doesn't have to kill them. It makes people lose their conscience and when they wake up they suffer from acute short-term amnesia. It has some unpleasant side-effects too, such as headache, dizziness, nausea and in a high dose even shock. And according to the toxicologist the level of the drug in Cole's blood was high.'  
  
'I don't think he took that stuff himself.'  
  
'Me neither, especially because the drug should be injected and we didn't find a syringe,' Catlett agreed. 'But it gives us an important piece of information. To get this drug you should have connections with the CIA or the military.'  
  
'Cole was with the CIA,' Westlake thought aloud, 'but Cartiega and the victim too.'  
  
'How do you know that?' Frankie wanted to know.  
  
Westlake showed them the photo she had found.  
  
'This shows the victim, Cartiega and Cole know each other, but it doesn't show they were with the CIA,' Catlett objected.  
  
'Actually it does,' Frankie explained. 'This man is Travis Parker, Cole's mentor at the CIA. We met him a couple of months ago.'  
  
'But it could have been taken last year or something.'  
  
'Look at the picture Catlett,' Westlake said. 'Cole doesn't look much older than 25. And at that time he was with the CIA.'  
  
'I guess you're right,' he admitted.  
  
'Guys, I found another connection between Cartiega and the victim,' Frankie said. 'The woman's name is Lisa Cartiega.'  
  
'What!' Catlett and Westlake said at the same time. They hadn't suspected this.  
  
'They're married?'  
  
'No, they are brother and sister.'  
  
Westlake sighed. 'We've found an connection but we still don't know anything. We don't know what Cartiega is doing in Metro, we don't know whether Cartiega is involved in his sisters murder and we don't know what was going on between Cole and Carlos and Lisa Cartiega either.'  
  
'Maybe we should have a little chat with your partner,' Catlett suggested.  
  
'Yeah, maybe we should. Tomorrow'  
  
Catlett checked his watch. It was 6.30 pm, time to go home. 'Tomorrow.'  
  
*****  
  
When the guards brought Cole in Westlake was ready for him. As a matter of fact she was very angry with him. She didn't like it when a person she trusted lied to her. He should have a damn good reason.  
  
The first minute neither she or Catlett said anything to him. They both just stared at him. Not impressed, he stared back. Because of his non cooperative attitude Westlake thought her partner had either some information which he didn't want to share with her or he had done something he shouldn't have done. Now it was time to find out.  
  
'Can we get you something to drink Cole?' Catlett finally asked.  
  
'No thanks.'  
  
'You lied to me,' Westlake said, still staring him in the face.  
  
'About what?'  
  
'About you not knowing Carlos Cartiega.' She handed him the photo she had found.  
  
'You searched my house!' he said accusingly.  
  
What did you expect, that nobody would? Westlake wondered, but she didn't say it.  
  
'Don't you worry Cole, she had a warrant,' Catlett said. 'So are you going to tell us the truth, or...'  
  
'...should we leave and let the DA handle you?' Westlake finished.  
  
'Is lying an offence?'  
  
'No,' Westlake said, really pissed off by this. He was in trouble, so some cooperation from his side could be expected. '.....but murder is.'  
  
She handed him a photo of Lisa Cartiega made by the coroner. First she saw a look of recognition on Cole's face, but it changed when he realized she was the person who was dead.  
  
The look on his face also told Westlake he didn't know or remember anything about the murder. That meant this wasn't the reason he didn't cooperate. She also noticed he was observing her now, looking for clues about what she knew and whether she really believed he did it. Knowing she shouldn't give him a clue she looked him right in the eyes. He looked right back. In the meantime, Catlett shifted his papers, acting like he didn't know what was going on, or maybe he really didn't know. Cole had to deal with her, not with Catlett. This made Cole nervous, something Westlake actually liked. Apparently Cole prefered to deal with Catlett when he was a suspect himself, while during work Cole wanted to stay away from him as far as he could.  
  
Finally Cole sighed and he didn't dare to look her in the eyes anymore, but he still didn't say anything. But she knew she had almost won. He needed her help more than she needed his.  
  
'Let's go Catlett,' Westlake said, knowing Cole good enough to know she had to push him a little further. Fortunately Catlett did what she said without trying to be the boss himself and they both got up and left the room, not even giving Cole a chance to stop them.  
  
'Well Catlett, he doesn't know or remember anything about the murder.'  
  
'No, but that doesn't mean he didn't do it.'  
  
Westlake thought over all the evidence. And she realized Catlett was right. If the didn't find new evidence Cole would be charged with the murder of Lisa Cartiega. And for her, the worst thing was she didn't know he did murder her or it was an accident or something, and if it was murder, why he had done it. But what she did know was that he knew more about the Cartiega's. She decided she should focus on that, she believed she would find out the truth about the murder sooner or later.  
  
'AGENT CATLETT!!!'  
  
Agent Sampers interrupted the conversation. He ran down the hall, heavy breathing.  
  
'The Metro Military Research Center has been robbed. They killed nine people and stole a chemical weapon.'  
  
'What!'  
  
Catlett and Westlake were stunned. How could a high security facility like the MMRC be robbed?  
  
'Do they know anything about the perpetrators?' Catlett finally asked.  
  
'That's why our superiors want you, because you're investigating him. It's Carlos Cartiega.'  
  
*****  
  
'Where's Catlett?' Cole asked when Westlake entered the room  
  
'Checking out the mess your friend Carlos left behind at the Metro Military Research Center.'  
  
'He isn't my friend.'  
  
'No?' At least he was talking to her now.  
  
'He actually hates me,' Cole revealed.  
  
Westlake handed him some hot coffee, which he this time gratefully accepted. It seemed he had decided to cooperate now. She liked that, because she hated to interrogate a friend.  
  
'Alright Cole, start with the beginning.'  
  
'The beginning?'  
  
'Where and when did you meet Cartiega?'  
  
Cole took a sip of his coffee and used that time to think.  
  
'We met about ten years ago in Colombia,' Cole finally started. 'Travis Parker and I were send there to guard a diplomat. We had to take him to the FARC guerillas, so he could negotiate with them. We teamed up with three agents stationed in Colombia who were familiar with the situation down there.'  
  
'The Cartiega's and the third man on the photo?'  
  
'Yeah, Ken Warlick. He and Carlos were really close, they shared everything. They knew each other since they were kids. The six of us had to travel 250 miles trough the jungle on really bad roads, it would have taken us four days to get there.'  
  
'But you never made it?' Westlake asked.  
  
'No. The first two days it went fine, but the third day it went wrong. We got ambushed by the guerillas. Ken Warlick and I covered the right flank. Ken got killed, Carlos blamed me for it.'  
  
'So the mission failed and Carlos wanted you dead. Travis and you left Colombia, the Cartiega's became soldiers of fortune and you never saw the them again. Until last week.'  
  
Cole sighed. 'Lisa contacted me the day before yesterday, she said we had to talk. She said nobody should know, that she was in danger.'  
  
'And it didn't occur to you that it might be a trap?'  
  
'Lisa wouldn't set me up. Lisa and I...'  
  
'You were in love?'  
  
He hestitated. 'Not really, but she didn't share her brother's opinion about me,' he slowly said. 'Anyway, we agreed to meet yesterday.'  
  
Westlake carefully looked at him. He avoided eye contact, which bothered Westlake. She had the feeling he lied about his relation to Lisa. She decided it wasn't important enough to investigate. Cole might not take it good and she needed him to talk to her right now, because she didn't have a lot of time.  
  
'Yesterday. Three days after we got assigned to the Cartiega case,' Westlake said acusingly. 'So why didn't you tell me?'  
  
Cole looked down, away from her. He didn't answer the question.  
  
'Didn't you trust me?' she tried.  
  
Cole sighed. 'I guess I just didn't want you to get involved.'  
  
'I already was involved, I was on the Cartiega case.'  
  
'But I didn't know what Lisa wanted to talk about,' Cole tried to defend herself.  
  
'No, but you knew something we didn't know, that she was possibly involved in Carlos his operations. She could have told us what his plans are.'  
  
Cole was silent for a while. 'Maybe you're right,' he finally admitted.  
  
OK, that was a start. Her partner had made a huge mistake, one which could cost him his career and even his freedom. Westlake was convinced he had known that when he made the choice. That he had left her out meant this Lisa wasn't just a girl from his past. Cole had trusted her and was willing to risk a lot to help her.  
  
'So what had Lisa to say?'  
  
'I can't remember I met her. The last thing I remember was us on a stakeout.'  
  
Westlake didn't know what to do now. Cole obviously didn't know what happened. And now she was convinced he didn't plan to murder Lisa Cartiega. She also knew there had been a third person on the scene: the person who had drugged Cole. Had he murdered her an made it look like Cole did it? It was possible. He could have drugged Cole first and killed Lisa after that. But then this person somehow surprised Cole and Lisa, because there were no signs of a struggle. And there were also still the fingerprints and gunpowder to consider. Westlake stopped trying to figure out what happened. There were to many questions and possibilities. There was one thing she knew and that was that the police had enough evidence to hold Cole in custody.  
  
'I'm a suspect for her murder?' Cole interrupted her thoughts.  
  
'The only and prime suspect, actually.'  
  
'Based on what, exactly?'  
  
'Detective Westlake is not in the position to discuss that information with you,' a man who entered the interview room said.  
  
Cole and Westlake both faced him.  
  
'And you are?' Cole asked.  
  
Westlake already knew the answer: Detective Darren Hodges. The Viper Team was removed from 'The Cole Case.' According to the FBI and MetroPol they were to much involved. She had gotten permission to interview Cole one more time to get information that could be valuable to their case: Carlos Cartiega. But she hadn't known Darren Hodges would handle the case. This was an unpleasant surprise. When she was still an ordinary officer she had filed a complaint against him for using violence against a suspect. Hodges still hated her for it and had told her she would regret it someday. This was his chance to get even and a look at his face told her he knew that.  
  
'Cameron, nice to see you again!'  
  
'Yeah, nice to see you too Darren,' Westlake replied, trying to stay polite. 'Guess I got to go.'  
  
'If you don't mind.' He had a big smile on his face, knowing it was his turn now.  
  
Westlake saw Cole had noticed there was something going on between her and Hodges. She also saw he didn't like Hodges, so she thought his answer wouldn't be very cooperative.  
  
When she left the room she heard she was right: he said he had nothing to say.  
  
*****  
  
'Already back?' Westlake asked surprised when she entered her office and found Catlett, Frankie and a third man waiting for her.  
  
'Yeah, and you have got to see this.'  
  
They were watching a video tape. When Westlake took a look she saw an Arabian man, speaking Arabic.  
  
'Who's that?'  
  
'Hamid Al-Wazid,' the third man said.  
  
'Cameron Westlake, this is Special Agent Ali Asri, our Middle East specialist,' Catlett introduced him to her. 'He knows everything about Muslim fundamentalists and terrorist groups.'  
  
'And that..eh..Al-Wazid....he is a terrorist?'  
  
'Yes. About six months ago he founded a new organization, Islamic Army of Arabia. They demand that the American Army leaves Saudi Arabia.'  
  
'And according to Agent Asri he claims to have the nerve gas and threatens to use it when the Army doesn't leave Saudi Arabia in 24 hours,' Catlett said.  
  
'So Cartiega is working for the Islamic Army of Arabia?'  
  
'It looks like it,' Frankie said. 'I checked where Cartiega has been lately. And guess what..'  
  
'Saudi Arabia.' Westlake sighed. 'So what are we going to do now?'  
  
'I don't know. Had Cole anything useful to say?'  
  
'No, nothing that can help our case. Cartiega wants revenge on Cole, but that isn't very useful information to our investigation.'  
  
'Well, we got to do something fast. If the media find out it could cause panic.'  
  
Westlake pointed at the tv. 'What does that guy got to say?'  
  
'Well,' Agent Asri aswered,' he gives the army untill midnight to start leaving Saudi Arabia, or else the United States have to accept the consequences.'  
  
'What does Washington say?'  
  
'That they won't follow the orders of terrorists.'  
  
'And what weapon do they have, you said it was nerve gas?'  
  
'Yeah, VX.'  
  
'Damnit, than they can make a lot of victims.'  
  
'Yeah, and we don't know their targets, Frankie noted.  
  
'I suggest we make a list of possible targets and try to track down known members of Cartiega's group,' Catlett said.  
  
'Good idea,' Westlake said. 'We'll try to find someone who works for Cartiega and you make the list.'  
  
'Let's do it.'  
  
*****  
  
Westlake, Frankie and Catlett had a meeting at Catlett's office. It was 9 pm, so they were running out of time. Westlake and Frankie had been working at the complex for hours, trying to track down at least one of the criminals Carlos Cartiega had hired. They hadn't found any of them. Catlett had been more succesfull. 'Making a list of targets is an impossible job,' he started. 'They can attack everything: a sportevent, suburb, some government agency, whatever they like. But Agent Asri thinks they won't use the VX right away but that they'll give a warning first, something like a conventional bomb.'  
  
'That doesn't help us very much right now Catlett,' Frankie said.  
  
'I know Waters, but some things we found at the Metro Military Research Center does. About four months ago there was stolen something: PIMH'  
  
'The drug Cole was injected with?'  
  
'Yeah. It was an inside job. The good thing is they had a main suspect. They had to let him go because there was not enough evidence.'  
  
'The suspect had a name?' Westlake asked.  
  
'Jeff Beams. He was a Navy Seal but got injured on some mission. Because he had a degree in chemistry he was temporary assigned to the research facility. He quit a month after the theft and since then he is a mercenary.'  
  
'Sounds like the kind of guy Cartiega likes to work with.'  
  
'That's the best thing,' Catlett said, 'Apparently they knew eachother.'  
  
Westlake knew they had their break. Catlett did something usefull this time.  
  
'How did they meet?'  
  
'Well,' Catlett said slowly while shifting in his chair. He defenitely loved it to be the man with the information. 'Navy Seals sometimes work for the CIA. We questioned one of Beams ex colleages and when we asked him about Cartiega he didn't seem surprised. Cartiega and Beams were tight, against the will of his teammates because they didn't trust Cartiega.'  
  
'Do we know how to find this guy?' Frankie wanted to know.  
  
'This Navy Seal told us the name and address of his girlfriend.' Catlett answered when he grabbed his phone which went off. 'We have her under surveillance.'  
  
He listened briefly and hung up. 'As a matter of fact, he just showed up.'  
  
The team went on their way.  
  
*****  
  
More than two hours later, Frankie and Westlake carefully followed the suspect through the crowded city. Frankie drove the Viper, shifting lanes all the time so he would get through the busy traffic. At some distance behind them about twenty FBI agents and a SWAT team followed. They had planted a bug at Beams car when he was inside his girlfriends house, so they would be able to keep distance without losing him. He was a former Navy Seal so they didn't want to take any risks. Their strategy had proven to be right, because the man was very alert, checking the people and cars around him all the time. He defenitely didn't want to be followed. The cops were lucky he didn't check his car for bugs before he left.  
  
'Hé Westlake,' Frankie started. He hestitated before he continued. 'It is almost midnight, the deadline.'  
  
'So?'  
  
'What if Jeff Beams isn't involved in this. Than we would be chasing a man while in a other part of town people get killed.'  
  
Westlake didn't answer. Frankie was right there was no evidence that linked Beams to Cartiega's latest actions. But Westlake's intuition told her he was involved. He had to be.  
  
'Slow down Frankie, he pulled over!' Westlake almost yelled at Frankie when she saw that the bleep on her screen stopped moving. They slowly continued their way untill they saw Beams black jeep parked behind a van. He stood beside it with seven other men. Among them was Carlos Cartiega. It looked like he was briefing the others. That would mean they were just in time.  
  
'They're all here at the corner of 17th and Wilson,' Westlake said over the radio. 'Give us a sign when you're in possition.'  
  
Catlett's order to surround them soon followed.  
  
'Shouldn't we go into the Defender mode?' Frankie asked.  
  
'Yeah, I think that's a good idea.'  
  
When 'Westlake, we're ready,' sounded through the radio Frankie drove the Defender to the middle of the road, blocking it. From the other side the SWAT team and the FBI agents moved towards the suspects.  
  
'POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!' someone yelled.  
  
They had hoped the suspects would be too surprised to resist. They were surprised, but not surprised enough. They spread out and opened fire, some at the SWAT, some at the Defender. When the SWAT team returned fire someone hit the van, which exploded with a hugh blast, blinding Frankie and Westlake. When their vision returned they saw bodies everywhere, cops and criminals. One man's clothes were on fire. Suddenly they saw someone running towards them, fleeing from the scene. When he was closer Westlake recognized Jeff Beams. Westlake didn't hesitate for one moment and opened her door when he passed her. Beams was running so fast he couldn't stop or avoid the door, so he runned against it and fell on the ground. When he got up he looked straight into the barrel of Westlake's gun.  
  
Half an hour later Westlake was leaning against the Viper, drinking some coffee Frankie had brought. She still couldn't believe what she saw around her. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if the bomb had exploded in a crowded area. At this hour Cartiega had probably wanted to 'disturb' the night life. The van had contained a very heavy bomb. The explosion had been so heavy it had blown off the façade of the nearest appartment building. It was a miracle nobody was killed. At least not in the building. They had found nine bodies on the street. She didn't know yet who it were, Catlett was trying to find that out right now. Frankie cursed when they almost got blown away by a news helicopter. There were a dozen of those flying above them, and if they looked at the left they could see camera crews making their reports. The events from half an hour ago were the news of the day. Westlake saw Catlett coming their way. He had scratches all over his face, caused by glass fragments. The Agent didn't look happy.  
  
'We don't have Cartiega.'  
  
'What!' Frankie yelled.  
  
After that it was silent. This was the worst news possible.  
  
'How did he get away?' Westlake finally asked.  
  
'He ran into that building over there, kicked in a door, ran right trough the living room and fled through the window. The older lady who lives there is terribly upset.'  
  
Westlake sighed. 'Well, she isn't the only one. Who are killed?'  
  
'Four of the criminals, three SWAT members and an older couple walking their dog. One of the criminals is in a coma and we arrested two of them, including the man you arrested, Beams.'  
  
'So Cartiega is the only one who got away. What do we tell the media?'  
  
'We'll release photos of Cartiega to warn the public, but we won't say anything about the VX.'  
  
'So what do we do now?' Frankie asked.  
  
Westlake answered with a grimm tone of voice: 'Squeeze every bit of information out of Beams and his friend.'  
  
*****  
  
It was 3 am.Westlake sat at a table with Jeff Beams, who seemed to ignore her completely. She was tired, but she knew she had to keep going. They had to catch Carlos Cartiega before he would use the VX.  
  
Catlett came in with three cups of coffee. Westlake gratefully took a sip, letting the caffeine do it's job.  
  
'Jeff, you're in real big trouble,' Catlett started. 'Armed robbery, murder, theft, terrorism, you're going to jail for a very, very long time. At least, if you won't get capital punishment.'  
  
'Do you want that Jeff?' Westlake asked. 'Do you want to die?'  
  
'I'm a navy seal, I'm not afraid to die.' It sounded convincing, but his eyes told Westlake something else.  
  
'There is a difference between a death on the battlefield or frying in the chair.' Westlake paused to raise the effect of her words. 'Dying on the battlefiekd is the death of a hero, in prison you die like a couward, and nobody will remember you.'  
  
'I won't die in jail.'  
  
'No?'  
  
'No. You can't prove a thing. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.'  
  
'Oh really?' Catlett laughed. 'First a drug is stolen from the research facility you work at. A couple weeks after this happened you quit your job. Than this drug is used in the murder of the sister of an old friend of yours. This same friend steals VX nervegas from the same facility the PIMH is stolen from. And when this man wants to detonate a bomb, guess who is with him: You! Do you really think we believe all this is coincidence? And do you think a jury will believe that?'  
  
'We just gave you the only chance you'll get,' Westlake said. She looked at the man. She saw he was all ear. 'So what do you de Jeff: take this chance or throw it away?'  
  
'Personally, I want you not to take it,' Catlett stated.  
  
That statement made Jeff Beams look at Catlett now.  
  
'I'd love to tell the DA that he should go for capital punishment, that we have a lot of circumstantial evidence and that the others all will testify against you. Do you really belive none of the others will talk, that they'll protect you. Well, let me tell you something: you are wrong!'  
  
Westlake was stunned. Catlett did a really good interview. She had never thought he could do this. Maybe it was the late hour. But the most important thing was that Beams would cooperate, she could see it on his face.  
  
'I want it black on white,' Beams demanded.  
  
'I'll call the DA right away.'  
  
One hour later, the three of them were back in the interview room.  
  
'Start with the beginning.'  
  
'Alright, I took the PIMH. Yesterday morning Carlos said he needed me and some of the stuff to fix some problem with Lisa. She would meet some guy she shouldn't meet.'  
  
'Lisa, that is his sister?'  
  
'Yeah. I had never thought he would kill her.'  
  
'Why not?'  
  
'Because she was his sister.'  
  
'How did it happen,' Westlake asked. It was time to get some answers.  
  
'When Lisa went shopping we broke into her room. We waited in the bathroom. She came back, half an hour later there was a man.'  
  
'A boyfriend?' Catlett asked.  
  
'I don't know, we didn't give them much time. When Carlos said 'it was him' we entered. I drugged the man as Carlos had asked while he took care of his sister. He knocked her out, took the gun of the man, placed it in the man's hand with the finger on the trigger, Carlos placed his finger over that of the man and pulled the trigger.'  
  
'That explains the gunpowder residu and Cole's fingerprints on the gun,' Westlake said, more in herself then to anyone else.  
  
'Later we proceeded by plan. We took the VX and sended the tape to the police. The next step was the bomb.'  
  
'What is the next target?'  
  
'I don't know. The only things I do know are that the Arabs picked the target, something Jewish I believe, and that Carlos really wants to use the VX.'  
  
It became silent now. This wasn't good news.  
  
'When?' Catlett asked.  
  
'I don't know.'  
  
'Where do you think Carlos is now?'  
  
'I also do not know that. Everybody had his own hideout. I don't know his.'  
  
Westlake realized there was nothing left to ask. She looked at the man in front of her. He would have used the VX, he would have killed dozens of innocent people. He made her sick. She decided she should the room before she would hurt the guy.  
  
'We've got to get Cole out of jail,' Westlake said to Catlett as soon as they stood outside. She started walking towards the elevator.  
  
'Take it easy Westlake,' Catlett stopped her. 'They don't release prisoners at 4.30 am.'  
  
Westlake sighed. 'Guess you're right.'  
  
'Look, I'll call MetroPol so they'll give Jewish targets extra protection, that's all we can do at the moment. Let's get a couple hours of sleep. Tomorrow morning we'll get Cole out of jail and then we'll get that son of a bitch.'  
  
Westlake felt how tired she was when Catlett only mentioned the word 'sleep.' It had been a very rough day. 'OK, see you tomorrow.'  
  
*****  
  
Westlake followed the guard to Cole's cell. She felt horrible. The couple hours of sleep didn't do her any good. When the guard opened the cell she saw Cole was asleep. At least someone had a good night's rest.  
  
She tried: 'Cole?'  
  
He opened his eyes and looked up at her.  
  
'You're okay?' Westlake asked, remembering who had questioned him the last time.  
  
'Yeah, I'm fine.' He got up. 'I thought they had forbidden you to get near me?'  
  
'You're officialy cleared from all charges.'  
  
He sighed of relief. Westlake realized he didn't know what happened. Maybe he even thought he had done it. Westlake told him what happened on the way out.  
  
'Hodges was tough on you?' Westlake asked her partner when he got returned his belongings and pulled on the clothes she brought with her.  
  
'Yeah, but nothing I couldn't handle. What is there between you and him anyway?'  
  
'I filed a complaint against him for beating up a suspect. Guess some people don't change, huh?'  
  
'No, although he didn't beat me up.' Cole laughed. 'I almost wish he had tried.'  
  
Westlake smiled. She knew exactly what he meant.  
  
'Guess I need a new service weapon,' Cole said, changing the subject.  
  
'You can have my spare untill you have a new one,' Westlake offered.  
  
'Not necessary, I have weapons at my place.'  
  
They were outside now. Cole took a deep breath. You never know what you have until you miss it for a while.  
  
'We don't have time to go there,' she said.  
  
'Why not?' he asked when he reluctantly got in the passenger seat of Westlake's car. 'Is the situation that bad?'  
  
Westlake sighed, thinking of the dead cops and civilians. Cole looked really worried know. During the ride to the conplex she filled him in.  
  
*****  
  
'Look who we have here,' Frankie said when Cole and Westlake arrived at the complex. 'How does it feel to be a free man?'  
  
'Well actually, I liked it there,' Cole joked. 'You don't have to do anything, free food...'  
  
'Yeah right! They laughed together.  
  
'Westlake, you look like you can use some coffee.'  
  
'You can laugh about it, you had a good night of sleep.'  
  
'Oh really? You think a huge explosion does any good to the Defender's equipment? I've been working all night to...'  
  
Westlake puut up her hands. 'Take it easy Frankie, we get your point.'  
  
'You better,' he grumbled.  
  
'What are you doing?' Cole asked.  
  
'I'm checking the list of Jewish targets that Cartiega could hit. I...'  
  
Cole made him stop. 'Wait a minute, isn't the Israelian Prime Minister coming to Metro today?'  
  
They fell silent for a second.  
  
'Frankie, why isn't that on the list,' Westlake wanted to know.  
  
'We just checked for local...' Frankie tried to defend hinself. It was clear he felt guilty.  
  
'It's not your fault,' Cole tried to calm him down. 'Call Catlett.'  
  
'Looks like our teamleader is back in charge, huh,' Frankie sneered.  
  
'Frankie!'  
  
Cole and Westlake drove to the Jewish center. The Prime Minister could arrive any minute to give a speech, so they didn't have much time. The situation reminded Westlake of an old case of theirs. Paraguayan terrorists had stolen nerve gas and had wanted to use it to kill the Minister of Defence. She, Cole, Frankie and Allie had been able to stop them in time. Westlake hoped they could stop Cartiega in time too.  
  
When Westlake looked at Cole, and she didn't like what she saw. His face was grimm, his body was extremely tensed and his eyes were dark. He looked really dangerous. She realized his sight scared her somehow. When she put a hand on his shoulder he almost jumped through the roof and violently grabbed her hand, taking it off his shoulder.  
  
'Take it easy Cole!' She almost yelled. 'And you're hurting me,' she said with an more normal voice.  
  
He looked at his hand, clasping onto her wrist very tight. He let go.  
  
'I'm...sorry,' he managed to say. He stared at her, looking very upset himself.  
  
'What's wrong?' Westlake asked out of breath. She only realized she was gasping for air when she said that.  
  
Her partner didn't answer.  
  
'Cole?'  
  
'I guess...'  
  
'COLE, WATCH THE ROAD!' Westlake covered her eyes with her hands.  
  
Cole did, and immediately hit the breaks. There was a slow, heavy truck in front of them. And because Cole was speeding ánd didn't pay enough attention to rhe road, they almost hit it. It was really close, the distance was only a few inches. Westlake removed her hands from her eyes, only to see the truckdriver putting up his middle finger against Cole. She took some deep breaths, trying to calm down.  
  
'What were you saying,' Westlake tried to continue their conversation. Cole looked away from her. She hoped he was paying attention to the road now.  
  
He sighed. 'In the interview I told you there was nothing between me and Lisa.......I lied.'  
  
'WHAT!'  
  
She sounded so angry Cole didn't dare to look at her. She wondered whether he had seen this reaction coming. He probably did.  
  
'Were you two still involved?' she finally asked. She wasn't as angry as she sounded, because she had known he was lying from the beginning.  
  
'No, it ended after Colunbia. But,' he paused for a moment, 'I guess I still cared about her.'  
  
'And now what do you want, revenge?'  
  
'That's what was going through my mind,' he finally admitted.  
  
'Cole.' She didn't know how to say this. 'Stay focussed alright? You're my partner and I'm supposed to know you're watching my back. And with you like this...'  
  
She didn't have to finish her sentence, her partner knew what she was talking about.  
  
'Don't worry, I'll be fine.' He smiled at his partner, trying to reassure her.  
  
She finally smiled back. 'Good, we've got a job to do.'  
  
*****  
  
Cole and Westlake arrived at the Jewish Center at exactly the same moment as Catlett. But still Catlett managed to ask: 'Where have you been?' Westlake looked at Cole, she still had his state of minds from just minutes ago in her mind. He looked like he could kill Catlett, but he sure didn't do any attempts.  
  
'Alright, I called the Israelian Prime Minister. His security will be extra alert but he wouldn't leave because that would cause too much panic. And for now it's just the three of us, backup will probably be there in fifteen minutes.'  
  
'Catlett, why don't you stay close to the Prime Minister. You know what Cartiega looks like, the security guys don't,' Westlake suggested. 'Then Cole and I will search the building for bombs, VX nervegas and Cartiega.'  
  
'OK, good luck.' Catlett was on his way, happy to meet an important man. He probably thought it was good for his career.  
  
'Let's use the Defender to do an infra-red scan of the building,' Westlake suggested as soon as Catlett was gone.  
  
'OK, but there are a lot of people in there,' Cole said, 'so I doubt it will do any good.'  
  
'Just give it a try.'  
  
Cole morphed the Viper and they waited for the scans to appear on the screen. The first scans were from the upper level of the two story building. No one was present there.That was different on ground level. There was the big room of the center, and the bleeps on the screen showed there were about 500 people present. The last scan showed one person in the basement. Cole and Westlake ran into the building.  
  
They stayed close together, making sure they covered each other. Cartiega was a professional murderer, so they didn't take any chances. They moved slowly, trying to make no noise, so they could surprise him. Westlake carefully looked around a corner. And there he was: Carlos Cartiega. He was adjusting the wires of a bomb that later probably would contain the VX. The container with the gas stood a few feet away from him on the floor. Westlake immediately moved back when Cartiega looked at her direction. Cole looked like he wanted to say something, so she put her hand on his mouth to silence him. She signaled him that Cartiega was there. They changed places so he could see for himself. He signaled he was going in. She was right behind him.  
  
'Freeze!'  
  
Carlos Cartiega froze, the vial with VX half in the bomb, half in his hands. He looked at them, a grin on his face. Both Cole and Westlake knew they had a big problem.  
  
'Lose the guns or I'll drop the VX.'  
  
'I don't think so!' Cole stated firmly.  
  
'No?'  
  
'The gas would kill you too.'  
  
'OH REALLY?' Cartiega yelled while jamming the vial into the bomb, what somehow started the timer. Cartiega dove away, taking cover behind a pillar. Cole fired, but missed. Cartiega re-appeared with a automatic weapon, shooting at their direction. Cole pulled Westlake out of the line of fire just in time.  
  
'Yo Tom!' Cartiega yelled. 'You have two options. You can try to catch me or try to save the lives of thousands of people. It's up to you!'  
  
When they heard him run away they immediatly came out of their cover. Cole kneeled down beside the bomb, studying it carefully.  
  
'Can you defuse it,' Westlake asked Cole.  
  
'We don't have too,' he said grimm, and he pulled out the vial of VX. 'The ignition wasn't attached yet.' Cole sighed. 'And Carlos will be gone by now.'  
  
'You're sure he won't try to kill the Prime Minister?' Westlake asked.  
  
Cole looked up at her. 'I'm not.'  
  
They ran up the stairs. When they got in the lobby the backup arrived in the form of dozens of police officers and FBI agents. A Supervising Special Agent came towards them. He was an elder, experienced Agent from DC who clearly was in charge.  
  
'Supervising Agent Ben Davis.' He showed them his identification. 'You are Cole and Westlake?'  
  
'We've got the VX,' Cole showed the vial, 'but Cartiega might still be in the building, trying to get the Prime Minister in a more conventional way,' Cole filled him in.  
  
'Well done Agents. Take the VX to the federal building, we'll take over the search.'  
  
Cole wanted to protest, but Westlake stopped him.  
  
'Thank you Sir,' she said with a smile. 'We'll make sure the VX is safe.' She pulled Cole away from the Agent and out of the building. He allowed her to do that, but a soon as they were outside he grabbed her arm, turning her towards him.  
  
'Who the hell do you think you are, Catlett? I never thought you would kiss someone's ass like he would!'  
  
Westlake laughed. 'Calm down. I didn't say we were going anywhere, did I?'  
  
At first he just looked at her. Eventually he nodded, but still looked very angry. When Catlett came out of the building and walked towards them, Cole turned his back on him. Catlett didn't seem to notice that.  
  
'I heard you let Cartiega away. How could you let that happen!'  
  
'You never change, do you?' Westlake replied, not impressed.  
  
Catlett pointed at the vial Cole was still holding. 'Cole, is that the VX?'  
  
Cole, who still looked the other way saw a car driving away from the next building. The driver sped up when he saw Cole looking at him.  
  
'Yeah, want to hold it?' Cole replied when he pushed the vial into Catlett's hands and started to run to the Defender.  
  
'Be carefull with that,' Westlake told Catlett before she followed Cole, not doubting his judgment. Cole hit the gas as soon as she was in the car. He would make sure they would get him this time.  
  
*****  
  
Cole managed to stay close to Cartiega, in spite of the heavy traffic. Cartiega tried all the tricks, but it didn't work, Cole stayed on his tail. Westlake observed her partner. Normally Cole would have said something about that, but now he was so focussed he didn't even notice. She wondered how much he really felt for Cartiega's sister. Her death had defenitely affected him, and he defenitely wanted Cartiega, death or alive. But apparently Carlos Cartiega really wanted Cole too. He had even killed his own sister because she had contact with him. She couldn't imagine she would kill one of her brothers because he had contact with someone she couldn't stand. Cartiega had done just that, so for her it meant he was really dangerous. And the most scary thing was that this really dangerous man wanted her partner dead. She hoped Cole could control himself, because every mistake could be his last one, specially with an adversary like Cartiega.  
  
Cartiega took a turn of the main road. It was a road that would take them trough woody and hilly terrain and out of Metro. Westlake realized they would get out of her jurisdiction. She almost laughed, it was a stupid thing to realize during a chase. And it didn't really matter either, because Cole was a Fed.  
  
The road made a curve in the direction of the Metro dam. But Cartiega didn't follow the road, he took a sandy road straight ahead instead. Westlake wondered whether Cartiega knew the area and knew a way to escape or that he was making a real mistake. Even a person who didn't know anything about cars could see the Defender would be a faster car in this terrain than the car Cartiega was driving. And you couldn't get of the road because of all the trees. All they had to do know was stop the car, and with the weapons of the Defender that was no problem.  
  
'Time to stop him?' Westlake suggested.  
  
Cole nodded and reached for the button to fire the machine guns. But when the side pod came out Cartiega knew there was something going to happen and he hit the breaks. Cole reacted fast, but not fast enough. Cartiega's car hit the left side of the Defender. Because they were wearing seat belts Cole didn't hit anything, but Westlake's head slammed against the side of the car.  
  
'Are you alright?'  
  
Westlake saw Cartiega run into the woods.  
  
'Yeah, I'm fine. Go after him!' Westlake knew she didn't sound ok, but her words were all her partner needed. He jumped out of the car and followed CArtiega into the woods.  
  
Meanwhile, Westlake took her time to check out her sore head. She decided she would have a big swelling, but for the rest she would be fine. Now she knew this, she looked around but didn't see Cole or Cartiega. What if Cartiega had beaten Cole? She decided going one direction on good luck wouldn't work, so she launched the probe to do the search for her. She had found them sooner than expected. Cartiega apparantly was a good atlethe, because Cole was in a good shape but he hadn't caught up with him yet. The detective suddenly realized they would have to cross the road if they kept running in this direction, so that she could cut them off.  
  
The cops had the luck on their side, because Cartiega was just lookiug over his shoulder to see if Cole was still there (he was real close) so he didn't see the Defender blocking his path. He ran against it and fell over the hood. Cole put his hand on the hood and jumped over the car, right on top of Cartiega. What followed was a violent struggle. Westlake got out of the car and pointed her gun at the men, but didn't fire because she couldn't tell the difference between them. Eventually, Cole was on top. He punched Cartiega knock out, right in the face. Westlake could hear Cartiega's nose break. Westlake saw Cole wanted to punch him again, but after hesistating for a second, he didn't.  
  
Cole slowly got up and down at the unconscious man for a long town. Suddenly he turned away from him. It was defenitely over.  
  
Westlake walked to Cartiega and knelt down to handcuff him.  
  
'You look like hell Westlake,' Cole spoke.  
  
Westlake looked up and him and couldn't help she had to laugh. Cole touched his broken lip and smiled.  
  
'Guess I'm not looking any better, huh?'  
  
Westlake smiled and shook her haed. 'You wouldn't win the beauty contest.'  
  
They both laughed.  
  
*****  
  
Two days later Westlake parked behind the Viper at the St. Jospeh cemetary. Cole had said he had lunch with someone, but Westlake had known better.  
  
This morning they had a meeting with a lot of people: the Viper team, Catlett, Agent Asri, Agent Davis, some high FBI oficials from Washington, the Chief of Police and several officials from the State Department and the Israelian government. It had been the final debriefing, everyone guilty was caught, except for the Arabians. After that the Israelian officials.had congratulated them and told the FBI officials that according to them, the Special Projects Team and Catlett deserved a medal. Maybe they would get one from Isreal. This, of course, made Catlett extremely happy. Cole had barely reacted to it, it had almost been impolite. But Cole had been silent the whole day. She and Catlett had done the most of the talking. He had been absorbed in his thoughts, and Westlake was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about.  
  
She walked to the place Lisa Cartiaga was getting burried. She was surprised she couldn't find Cole among the people present. When she searched the area she found him on a bench. She walked over there and sat beside him. He didn't react at her presence.  
  
'Why don't you go over there?'  
  
'I don't belong there,' he said without looking at her.  
  
'Why not?'  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
'Cole, you are not responsible for her death.'  
  
She knew he would never be totally convinced of that, because he couldn't remember what had happened, and according to the doctors he never would. He had to believe what others told him, and apparently that wasn't easy.  
  
'We were part of different worlds for years.'  
  
His statement surprised her. Westlake didn't know what he meant by that. But because she had the idea he wasn't in the mood to tell her, she decided not to ask.  
  
'Do you want to go over there?' Westlake asked her partner when the people left. The funeral was apparantly over.  
  
'No, not really,' he muttered. 'Maybe some other time.'  
  
Westlake got up and put her hand on his shoulder. 'Let's go, we've got work to do.'  
  
Cole first looked up at her and than at the direction of the grave.  
  
'Yeah, let's get to work.'  
  
The End 


End file.
